Miss Mia Grace, I Love

Oh, Miss Mia Grace

I love you.

There's so much I want to write about you, 

but all I keep going back to is - I Love You.

Every Wednesday morning, I get to be all alone with you.  

Your brother and sister are off at school and it's just you and me.

Every Wednesday night, daddy and I get to be all alone with you.  

Your brother and sister are off at church and it's just you, me, and daddy.

I cherish our time together and soak in every single second of us being alone (because it doesn't come often), but I can't help but giggle when you constantly spend our alone time asking where Sissy and Bubby are.  You throw your hands up, shrug your shoulder, furrow your brows and ask "Sissy?".  I tell you she's at school or at church and you go through the same motions for Mason - you ask "Bubby?".  I tell you he's at school or at church and then you say "Pick up".  We have this conversation over and over again throughout our Wednesdays together.  

I love it. 

I love our conversation.

I love that you growing bigger and bigger.

You're getting smarter and funnier and ornerier and

...and you're just growing up.

My baby is growing up.

You are at an age where you are very influential.

You are picking up on words and actions so very quickly.

You are smart.  So smart.

Last week, Mason taught you to say "shush up".  While you don't know what that means, you know it's not something nice to say and you like to say it a lot to get a rise out of mommy and to spread laughter to your brother and sister.

...and that laughter - that laughter between you , Mason, and Makayla.
I love it.
I love it so much.

I thank God countless times a day for what the three of you have with each other.

I love you, Mia.

I love your laughter.

I love how your eyes sparkle with JOY...and I love how you smile with your eyes!
I love how you touch my hair when it's wet and ask "shower?" and then gently roughly comb through it with your comb.

I love how you always want me to check for boogas (boogers) in your nose.

I love how you think all of your shoes are so pretty and that you want me to put pretty (blush) on your cheeks so you can look pretty.  You love to be pretty.

I love how you are such a good mommy.  You love to bounce your baby.  You love to feed your baby.  You love to put your baby night-night.  You love to be a mother to your baby, to your pretty baby.

I love how you hug me and cuddle into me.  I love your tiny arms around my neck and I love how you are always leaning in for a kiss.
I love that you've learned that "purple" is a color, so everything is always purple. 

I love how you are so quick to bring Mason his blankie when he's hurt or upset.

I love that you always ask for jelly on your toast.

I love that you still want me (or let me...i'm not sure) to rock you to sleep at night.

I love how you are so genuinely concerned when you hear a baby or child crying.  Your eyes get sad and you repeat over and over again "cry".

I love to watch you dance.  You are the star of our dance parties.
I love that you're talking more and making sentences.  

It's so fun to watch you grow into a little girl.

I'm so thankful for you.
I'm thankful for the love you give me and for all that you've taught me.

I'm thankful for the love, laughter, and joy you bring to our family.
I'm thankful to live this life with you, Mia.

I love you.

Just Write

I recently came across this letter I had written to Makayla and Mason:

"Peace.  It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart."

makayla and mason ~

life is filled with hardship, struggles, sadness, heartbreak, and pain.

it is also filled with beauty, happiness, magic, miracles, and joy.

 your biggest worries right now in your little lives are trying to put a pair of tights on and struggling with the pain of molars coming through your baby gums.

i hope that as you get older and you begin to experience anything other than the good of this life that you will always be able to find peace within your heart.

how you get there, or whatever it is that helps you get there, is up to you.

 i want you to always be able to remember a feeling of love, appreciate and be thankful for all that you have, and focus on that.

life is good.

very good.

but it's up to you to be able to see and feel that.

mommy, daddy, and everybody else that loves you, are here every second of every day to mold you, guide you, and teach you how to love

...and hopefully one day you'll be able to learn on your own how to find peace amongst the chaos - to be calm in your heart.

love, mommy

*************************************************************

One reason for this blog is to help me focus on the GOOD.

When things get bad or people get mean, I write.
I write about the good.

To keep calm in my heart when there's chaos, 

I turn to this blog.
I write.

As I was reminded in church this morning, everybody has a bad list and everybody has a good list.

How you react to a situation, the negativity or positivity you bring to a moment, determines where your life goes next...
and I refuse to let the negative control who I am or how I live.

I choose to to write about the good and to photograph the beautiful.

By doing so, the bad kinda disappears...
the bad doesn't seem so bad.

I began this blog over three years ago and have written 300+ entries.
Since I started writing about what I love and what brings me JOY, I have begun to see life more beautifully and I find myself appreciating so much more.

Don't get me wrong - 
the people and the situations that I can write on my "bad list" are still there, but the weight of the bad isn't as heavy when I am able to focus and record all of the things on my "good list".

...so back to my letter to Makayla and Mason (and now Mia), my hope for them is that they will always have peace in their hearts and to rejoice in those moments when they feel like they can't.

My advice to them will be to write.

Write down what makes you happy.
Write down all of the goodness that sparkles in your life.

Write down those moments that make you close your eyes, take in a deep breath, and smile.

Write down your blessings.
Write down what you love.
Write down who you love and why.

Just write.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

- William Wordsworth

...and that's what I do.

I write about things that matter to me.

I am honest and raw and vulnerable and passionate.

I write about what keeps my heart beating.

Happy First Birthday, Mia Grace

Miss Mia Grace,

From birth...

 to ONE -

and all the weeks and months in between...

My, how you have grown over the past year!

Happy First Birthday, Mia Grace!!

We had so much fun yesterday celebrating you.

The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and we got to sing "Happy Birthday" to you with some of our favorite people!

This has been the quickest year of my life, because it feels like this

just happened yesterday.

With you turning a year old, I have been quite sentimental.
Knowing that you are my last of everything, I've been clinging on to these days with you that seem so fleeting.
Yesterday, was my last 1st Birthday Party...and while that makes me want to cry sad tears, I choose to cry happy tears - to rejoice that you are ONE!!  

Turning ONE comes with so many accomplishments -

Waving bye-bye,

Blowing kisses,

Giving high fives,

Devouring baked beans like you haven't eaten in weeks,

Getting so.very.close. to walking,

Climbing on mommy and daddy like we're your mountain,

Wrestling with your brother and sister like you're a big kid,

Doing puzzles,

Coloring,

Clapping when appropriate,

Standing on your tip-toes to play the piano with your sissy,

giving real hugs and open mouthed kisses,

and growing more teeth.

You've done nothing but amaze me every single day and I just can't get enough of you!
Watching you flirt with anybody who makes eye contact with you,

Seeing you concentrate so hard on picking up the tiniest pieces of fuzz or lint from the floor and giving it to me,

Reaching out your tiny arm to share a piece of your snack with the person sitting next to you,

Filling up and emptying out (over and over again) any container near you - your toy basket, bowl of cheerios, bucket of crayons...,

Beaming with pride as you finish climbing the stairs to your bedroom,

hearing your fake coughs to get our attention,

and most of all, making my heart thump as I witness the way you nurture that special bond between you, your brother, and your sister.

I am mesmerized by you, baby girl.

Your tiny little hands, your long toes, your sweet soft cheeks, your baby blonde hair that sweeps across your forehead, your big blue eyes and long eye lashes, your giggles...

You truly are fearfully and wonderfully made.

(your little newborn foot)

You are a precious gift to us and I am so blessed to be your mommy.

Thank you for this amazing and beautiful year.

Thank you for bringing so much joy to our lives.

Thank you for making me a better person.

Love,

Mommy

Grandpa Curry Turns 60

Tonight was a special night.

 Grandpa Curry turned 60 years old!!

(the highlight of the kids' night - blowing out grandpa's candles)

...and for a month now, I've been itchin' to present him with his 60th birthday gift.

I love giving gifts...

and I've surprised Kevin with a couple of favorite gifts that were perfect - gifts that neither he nor I will ever forget.

Flying lessons.

A surprise trip to Florida  for his birthday.

And, now, I can add another favorite gift to my list - 

a gift for my father-in-law on his 60th birthday.

A gift that I didn't come up with on my own, but one of which I read about on other blogs.

Something that grabbed my attention, something I was determined to follow through with, something that took a month to complete, something that was so fun and very exciting to create - 

60 memories for 60 years of life -

We filled 60 envelopes - each with a memory from people that have been a part of Greg's life (past and present). 

The first envelope was my letter to him - what I love about him...thanking him for opening his heart and home to me and for being the grandpa that he is...that he means 'the world' to my kids.

 Here, in the first envelope, is the last part of my letter:

We had memories beginning from the day he was born - 

...to today (pictures from his grand kids) 

...and everything in between:

All the way back to 6th grade through high school -

Words from co-workers (past and present): 

Words from his sons and family members:

We had fun memories written on toilet paper -

...and memories that made us laugh out loud -

So many pictures and kind words were shared -

 Tonight was a special night.

 60 envelopes and 2 hours later -

each envelope holding a special memory for Greg.

each envelope carrying kind, uplifting words.

it's good for the heart and soul.

Happy Birthday!

You mean so much to so many people and you deserve the best!